Rather than Kvetch about Healthcare.gov, why not try Creating an Account?

With all the media reports about glitches, traffic issues and what not afflicting Healthcare.gov, the Web portal built to help enroll millions of uninsured Americans in private health insurance plans authorized by the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), I figured I'd take a firsthand look to see what all the fuss was about.

Now, I didn't need to sign up, as I already benefit from employer-provided health insurance coverage. So this was strictly from curiosity. Also, in the worst-case scenario where I do lose my current health coverage, it would be nice to have an account in the system.

Anyway, here's my report on joining the Health Insurance Marketplace using Healthcare.gov: IT'S EASY!

Creating a brand-new account was no more difficult than, say, registering a username on Patch.com to create this Blog entry. I wasn't able to simply log in using my Facebook account or Twitter handle -- which is actually a good thing -- so there was some manual entry (keyboarding!) involved.

The text is easy to read; the fields are easy to locate; and the explanations for what to do are straightforward.

Here's the complete list of the steps required to create a Healthcare.gov account, and the Fields I had to complete:

On the Home Page, click "Create Account"

Enter Name (First and Last are required; Middle and Suffix are optional)
Select the State I live in (drop-down, select "Michigan")
Enter a valid email address (two times, in two different fields)

Click "Next" to go the next page

Select a Username (must include a mix of characters, with at least one Uppercase letter and one Number; you can also use special characters like punctuation, dollar signs, etc.)
Create a Password of at least 8 characters (again including at least one Uppercase letter and one Number)
Enter the Password again to confirm

Click "Submit" to send the completed form

Wait less than 30 seconds for the confirmation email to arrive in your Inbox at the address you listed, from "Health Insurance Marketplace"

Click the link provided in the email to confirm your account creation

Wait less than 30 seconds for the Welcome message from "Health Insurance Marketplace."

You are now free to move about the site, update your profile or start the process of shopping for a health insurance plan for youself or your family.

Were there any problems? Yes, but it's not something that would impact many people. I...have a Suffix in my name. Worse, it's not very common.

I'm not a Senior or Junior, nor am I some blueblood with a "III" or "IV" by my name. Nope, I'm a Second. That's "II." And for whatever reason -- probably because no one involved when the site was built had ever met a "II" before -- it's not an option I can select in the Create Account form.

Note that the Suffix field, like the Middle Name field, is optional. I did not need to fill it in to create my account. It was simply a bit perplexing: Even though Seconds are much rarer than Juniors and Thirds, I've never encountered a site where it wasn't an option when a Suffix field was present.

Fortunately, the 24/7 Live Chat option was available, and I used it to raise my concern -- because adding one more choice to a simple drop-down field on a web form would take about a minute of a competent web designer's time once it was assigned. It was a very nice exchange, and I'm sure Tynetta was glad to chat with someone who wanted to help rather than complain.

The fix would be, as they say, a low-hanging fruit. I look forward to seeing it implemented in the coming days.